Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy Author: Garrick Davis Where to read: Online (Free Webserial) or Grab Book 1 on Amazon
Synopsis On Day One, Eva was crawling through the ruins of a crashed starship, countless light years away from safety. On Day One Hundred, she was running through the jungles of a hostile planet, the demons of her past biting at her heels. They would not stop until she was dead, and she would not stop until she reached Earth. The Age of Man has ended. Desolate planets and shattered starships fill the void of space, and the wrathful manhunters have conquered the cosmos. Humans, who had once ruled the stars, are mere prey to these immortal aliens. They patrol the galaxies in massive ships, mercilessly killing every human they find. Survivors like Eva must traverse through the shadows of space, for they are constantly being hunted by the enemy. Earth, the only planet the manhunters have been unable to destroy, is their only hope for survival. Exosolar is a sci-fi Survival story that chronicles the journey of Eva, one of the last humans left alive. With danger lurking on every planet, she must find her way back to Earth, and defeat the demons that seek to destroy her.
Special Excerpt from Chapter One: Ours is the Fire (Visit the links above to read the entire story) Eva’s desperation had led her to Eridere Seven, the most treacherous planet in the Vedoran System. In Eridere’s vast jungles, death could come to her in a variety of ways. If her exosuit malfunctioned, the planet’s toxic gases would kill her in less than a minute. If her plasma pistol lost its charge, the nightmarish beasts lurking in the shadows would soak the leaves with her blood. Eva knew the risks. She came to the primitive planet expecting to die. Her demise was inevitable. Eridere Seven was the only place in the entire solar system that would grant her a quick death. For her, being killed by a pack of feral beasts was far more favorable than what the manhunters had in store for her. If they caught her, she’d lose all hope for a swift end. They would torture her until the pain drove her to insanity, then, when she could no longer scream for mercy, they’d feast on her flesh. Eva shuddered at the thought. She crept silently through the dense jungle, her pistol held at the ready. Dark, towering trees surrounded her. Leaves as red as blood formed a thick canopy overhead. Wisps of toxic fog weaved through the underbrush. The shrill shrieks of unseen creatures echoed through the dry air. She kept a watchful eye on the twin suns. They had risen far above the golden clouds, and were setting the sky ablaze with crimson light. She would need to head back at dusk. She had already wandered several miles away from the gulch where her spaceship, the White Lotus, was located. With luck she could reach the ship, depart from the planet, and slip into a wormhole long before Eridere fell dark. She continued to venture through the jungle. Her slender exosuit, its metal plates colored a bright cobalt, brushed against the thick vegetation. Tall plants rose like spires amongst the trees. Eva avoided them at all costs. They were as poisonous, and deadly, as the toxic air itself. Multiple warnings flashed across her helmet’s Heads Up Display. They warned her of rising toxicity levels, radiation, and of her suit’s depleting oxygen tanks. She ignored them all. She was traveling to the heart of the jungle, where the herbivores were gathering. She hoped to spend most of the day hunting. The docile creatures would be easy prey. After she had finished hunting, she would then begin digging for precious minerals. Eridere’s soil was rich in falsidium; a material she could use to fuel both her exosuit and her ship. After landing on the planet at dawn, Eva had left the White Lotus hidden in a desolate gulch on the outskirts of the jungle. She activated the ship’s reflective stealth panels, rendering it invisible to the naked eye. It was an attempt to hide theLotus from unseen assailants. At the top of Eva’s HUD was a navpoint; a blue arrow leading to a specific geographical location. She had created it hours earlier. It would help her find her way back to the White Lotus She had spent much of the morning wandering through the jungle. The only weapon she possessed was her plasma pistol, though it was decades old and malfunctioning. It had failed to fire several times before, making it both unpredictable and unreliable. To the west, a tropic storm ravaged the mountains. An endless downpour of acid rain tore the jungle asunder. Plumes of toxic gas spread through the air like a cancer. The storm had raged on for hours, and would not stop until the entire region was as black as death. Eva kept to the east, where nature was more forgiving. She stalked through the underbrush, searching for easy prey. She had encountered many herbivores over the past few days; lumbering giants that moved like snails. With one clean shot from her pistol, she’d have enough meat to last for a week. But she needed to be careful. She wasn’t the only predator on the hunt. Winged creatures constantly patrolled the skies. Claw prints left behind by monstrous beasts covered the ground. She knew they were watching her from the shadows, awaiting the perfect moment to strike. Eva kept her pistol raised. Let them come. She would be ready.
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EXOSOLAR: A SCI-FI SURVIVAL STORY FROM GARRICK DAVIS